Return of the Shield Hero
by Ledgeion
Summary: After the Rise now comes the Return of the shield hero. Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty have grown tired of waiting for Naofumi and eventually gave up hope that he will return, Few days later He unexpectedly returned, and caught the group by a storm of emotions. (No spoilers)
1. Chapter 1

**Return of the Shield Hero**

Naofumi and his Party Raphtalia and Filo are at the end of the Waves alongside the parties of the other heroes. The road leading to this was treacherous but the end of the journey is soon to come.

Chaos ensued as the final boss stood weakened. All the heroes are spent and exhausted but was finally able to do a decisive blow against it, Raphtalia and Filo with the spear, sword, and bow heroes who were all supported by the shield hero finally eliminated the boss. Queen Mirella Melromarc and Melty who were participating in the defense with the Army of Melromarc watched the heroes killed the monster. The Giant Demon Monster boss (or whatever you imagined it to be.) was finally starting to fade to ashes in background dying slowly.

Filo who was in tears slumped to the ground cheered "We did it Raphtalia-chan!"

"Y-Yea…it's finally over…"

Everyone who participated in the wave all cheered for the heroes and celebrated their victory against the final wave.

Naofumi crouched in the ground nearby getting a moment's rest from the recent events while thinking ahead of the conflicting decision of remaining in this world or returning back home. "_*sigh….. I have been in this new world for so long, perhaps it's time to go back, or perhaps leaving is a bad idea. Oh well, perhaps I'll have plenty of time later to decide."_

"Naofumi-sama!"

His party called to him in unison.

Naofumi looked up to see the girls who are in front of him, Raphtalia, Filo and Melty, the Queen not far behind them.

All of them had glowing expressions and are filled with joy, smiling at the shield hero. Naofumi returned the smile with an awkward one.

But all of the cheerful expressions were disrupted as the Demon Monster in the background finally faded into nothing, the heroes' HUD displayed messages of Accomplishment, beams of light struck down on the four heroes and immediately started to pull them to the sky, jolting everyone. The four heroes are gonna be sent back home. It was all very sudden, the group is puzzled.

"Wai….." Naofumi cried out but then the beam rapidly sucked him up to the sky.

After a strike of realization on what is happening, everyone immediately rushed and used what ounce of strength they have left to stop this unacceptable departure and keep Naofumi from leaving.

"Water Purison!"

"Noo! Naofumi-sama!"

"Hyaaah."

Melty used her water magic while Filo transformed and boosted Raphtalia up using her Filolial queen form to reach Naofumi….

Their fingers barely touched as Raphtalia desperately reached out to reach Naofumi's hand, her tears were already leaking all over.

Leaving Their farewells premature and Naofumi is sent away.

"What the hell! This wasn't in the instructions"

At this point everything was white and faded into a room, now Naofumi is back to the Library just like that, where it all began.

I was holding the book with my right hand and locket with the shield hero shield on it on the other.

"_I guess it's over."_ Doing his best to hold back his tears he wholeheartedly accepted the reality as he had many times before in his adventures. Accepting the cold and harsh truth was becoming of him as a specialty which made him strong.

*Few weeks later

"_It's been 6 weeks since I was forcibly returned to my world, I keep having trouble sleeping and its 2am in the morning." _Naofumi pondered in his thoughts of the past world while he was in his bed staring deeply into the ceiling. _"It seems I only made up my mind now that I am back here."_

Trying to recall his friends, their faces flashed in his mind. _"I wonder what happened to them… I miss those guys."_

Looking at the locket which was the only thing he got back from his journey, the gem at middle of the shield started to glow, at first glance Naofumi thought it was some hallucination or a dream but then the glow intensified and enveloped his sight.

"Is this it?!"

Naofumi tensed up, bracing for what's to come.

His vision turned white and faded to a blurry dim room setting, the place was familiar. He is standing on a glowing platform with a large door nearby, its edges illuminated by the bright light behind it. He was in the same room where he was first summoned as the shield hero along with 3 others, in the kingdom of Melromarc.

"_Where are the others?... Am I the only one?"_ he curiously thought scratching his head after scanning the room.

Behind the door he heard chatters of people, which is odd because he heard them ordering people accordingly.

"Faster, Hurry, he has arrived."

Was the exact words he heard and sounded like it came from a woman, seems like she wanted to keep her voice down enough that she could be heard but not by me, it was then followed by rushing footsteps outside and the clattering of armor.

"Hhmmm….This is really sketchy."

He thought to himself and took a glance to see if the shield hero HUD was still there and confirmed it seeing all his previous stats have returned.

He then proceeded towards the door prepared and confident for the next scene, which was not what he really expected but wasn't shocked nonetheless. Behind the door revealed guards rushing to line up on both sides and raising their weapons making a path for him after having finished assembling.

"A surprise huh?"

he muttered to himself as he casually followed where this leads.

The path leads to what appears to be 3 Women standing and waiting for him, while they were at it, they were in a hurry fixing their clothes, straightening up their gowns, last fixes to their hairs and a few last adjustments clearly trying to look their best on the spot, and as they saw me coming they snapped straight into position. It was clearly visible that they were a bit nervous from his arrival.

Finally standing in front of the three he recognized them. _"it's the Queen, and Malty, and Melty. They look a bit different specially Melty whoa, she looks grown up."_ Naofumi thought.

They all bowed(Curtsy) in front of Naofumi as a sign respect. The Queen then gestured for Melty to speak and welcome the shield hero herself but she was more nervous to speak which made the Queen gave her a light push forward to force her.

Melty looked hesitant but is able to muster her courage.

"W-Welcome back shield hero Na-Naofumi-sama, I-It's nice to have you back after leaving for a bit long." She was blushing all over and looks like she was gonna cry.

Naofumi observing Melty was a bit surprised he thought. _"Wow Melty is taller now and her hair is a bit longer and she now has BOOBS!."_

"Wai-t how lo-…"

"Before anything shield hero-sama let's celebrate this wonderous day for your return."

The queen interrupted his question and led the group outside to a large balcony where a large crowd has been gathering below. It should be obvious that they were here to celebrate the shield hero's return but to Naofumi who is still puzzled to the current state of affairs is still left confused.

"hehe… there's a lot of people down there."

All Naofumi could do was wave, not letting the nervousness get to him. He'd look over to Melty who stares at him from time to time but would look away as soon as their eyes would meet. _"Is she embarrassed or something?" _He thought to himself.

Treading down the halls are the three (Naofumi, Melty, Queen Mirellia).

"Your arrival actually caught us off guard Naofumi-sama"

"Me neither, I was suddenly returned back."

"An Oracle actually told us that the shield hero will return but he didn't know where or when exactly, and after hearing this good news the kingdoms have been anticipating for years for when you return. It's safe to say that they have grown tired of waiting and gave up just days ago."

"So how long was I gone?"

"IT'S BEEN OVER 9 YEARS!"

Melty's sudden reaction to Naofumi gave the two a bit of a surprise when she finally decided to speak up, Her face looks flustered and red all over.

"Do you know what Filo-chan and Raphtalia-chan endured?!... Hmmpf."

At the end of her statement she turned around and left swiftly walking away.

"ehe.. she had become more rebellious now that shes grown to that stage. She just probably missed you, and she's actually happy that you're back"

"It's ok, I understand."

"Word has just got out that you have returned, they will eventually reach Raphtalia-chan and Filo-chan, I have prepared a ball tomorrow to commemorate your return."

"speaking of which, how are they?, my party"

"Raphtalia has become one of the strongest swordmaster and the ruler of the demihuman country Siltvet, Melty has been crowned Queen of Melromarc and I'm just the queen regent, while Filo has become the Queen of all the Filolials also."

"Wha?!

**This has been revised just a bit. You wouldn't know which was revised anyway.**

**Du magst Schwänze. Gib mir noch mehr Bewertungen, verdammt**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Raphtalia sat at the balcony of the castle under the night sky and the light of the moon spending her spare time alone. Though the years have been rough to her, She took Naofumi's abandonment the worst, being the most distraught out of everyone who's close to the shield hero, this only ended up in her resenting Naofumi.

A huge pale white Filolial suddenly appeared hovering on top of the night sky, eclipsing the light of the moon, Raphtalia looked up seeing the object changed its appearance and landed next to her, an adolescent girl with blonde hair ,blue eyes, and protruding wings at each side, came up to her and spoke.

"I have exciting news nee-chan! Master Naofumi is back."

"Wha-!...

oh….. really….?"

The question almost caught her off guard but Raphtalia replied forcing herself not to feel startled.

"Y-yeah we are cordially invited tomorrow."

"….."

"You are required to be there ne-chan!"

*Deep Sigh*

Raphtalia clenched her fists looking over at the view on top of the balcony for a second then rushed inside looking for one of her servants.

"You, prepare the carriages immediately, we will depart to the kingdom of Melromarc as soon as possible."

With it the servant swiftly left the room and fulfill his orders leaving only Filo and Raphtalia in the room.

"Are you still mad at master for leaving ne-chan?"

"Not really since I'm gonna face him again soon one way or another."

"I know deep down you still love master as much as I do… I'll go on ahead of you so don't be late there tomorrow."

Raphtalia meant to avoid the questions from Filo and she got away with it going out of her way to prepare for the departure to Melromarc, Filo noticed this and decided not drag out the subject, she made her way out the window and flew away in her Queen form heading for the kingdom of Melromarc.

***A few minutes before the ball at evening***

"Where's Naofumi?!"

"Last I saw him he was walking around the city but he hasn't been back for awhile."

"Then find him NAOW!"

"Y-yes your majesty Melty-sama"

The servant scrambled in a hurry with other guards in tow in order to find the shield hero who hasn't been seen since noon, the situation made Melty nervous since there are important people from afar coming to see him. Her mother then arrived seeking her after hearing the news.

"Oh no… Filo-chan and Raphtalia-chan will be upset after I lost Naofumi-sama"

"Calm down Melty, he just arrived back after 9 years, he's probably nervous seeing his friends again."

"What if he doesn't come back before the guests arrive? Or what if he doesn't come back at all?"

In comes the shield hero himself.

"When is the party going to start?."

"Where the hell have you been?!"

"I just took a nap at one of the rooms in the castle, what's the big deal."

"You have been gone for 9 years and you are gonna leave unexpectedly again?"

"Why do you guys keep saying that, like I was the one who wanted to leave?"

"Just come along, some of the guests have already arrived."

With that Melty proceeded to grab Naofumi's hand and dragged him with her to the ball room when the door ahead of her opened to reveal Filo who looked shocked at the sight, Naofumi was still grumbling and didn't notice the girl in front of them.

"Can you please wai-."

The Filolial Queen that just arrived tackled Naofumi, knocking him across the room, Childishly crying her eyes out.

"Naofumi-sama Naofumi-sama … S-sorry for e-everything…. Pl-please don't abandon us again!"

"What is it with me abandoning thing like I sai…."

The crying Filolial Queen has wrapped around Naofumi while rubbing her face left and right on his torso, while Naofumi is gasping for air since every breath he took was getting shorter as Filo's grip on him is getting tighter and tighter, _"Shes Crazy Strong!"_

"Ok….. seriously….. I… can't….. breathe…."

"S-sorry"

"You may look more mature now but you still act a bit childish."

"I missed you, you know Master, didn't you miss me?"

Filo finally released Naofumi from her deadly grip and wiped away her tears and lavishly seeking for Naofumi's affection.

"In my case back in my world I was only gone a few weeks."

Taking a good look at Filo she matured almost like Melty _"Figured she looked like the same age as her back then"_ her height has improved so have her body looked like it already went through puberty.

Melty then returned to grab Naofumi's hand dragging him again.

"The party is about to start come on"

"Hey no fair! I also want to drag master Naofumi."

"Then come get him yourself. bleeeeeeh"

Filo then proceeds to grab Naofumi's entire arm and Melty did the same leaving Naofumi 2 girls on escort with him.

After the introductions the ball finally started _"All the people here are all familiar, they are the ones I have met during my journey back then."_ Naofumi waited and looked around for a special demi-human.

He wasn't ready to see Raphtalia again after so long, but he wasn't also ready for Filo or Melty but it turned out fine anyway.

"_Im still feeling a bit nervous."_ Naofumi caught a glimpse of the Racoon Demi human in a gown, She was already looking at him with a slight glare and when their gazes met she just looked away and ignored him.

"Rapthalia."

I called out to her but she just walked further away. _"Maybe she isn't ready to see me either"_ I eventually decided to wait after the party is over. "Maybe I should talk to her alone too."

People were already leaving and I saw Raphtalia walked outside and I followed her finally seeing the opportunity to talk to her. She seemed to be waiting for me as she is already facing me when I got outside I can't see her face though her head was down there was clearly something odd about this.

"Hey Raphtalia how have you bee-"

Kaput

In a split second out of nowhere Raphtalia conjured a sword and swung it at Naofumi. It struck him with great force that it threw him into the air and stuck to the wall behind him, luckily Naofumi was able to react to this on time using his toughest shield to block the attack, but it was devastating, feeling the pressure of the attack made his arm go numb from the pain of blocking it. _"Where the hell did that sword came from?! And why the hell did she just attacked me."_ Immediately realizing it wasn't the last one as Raphtalia charged at him with a volley of attacks.

"What's wrong with you Raphtalia?!"

"You are a liar!, You broke our Promise!, You said you wouldn't leave!"

Naofumi was getting irritated at that statement of him leaving like he wanted to. _"Not this argument again"_

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!"

"No…No…No…!"

"_She has become very strong I can't last for much longer, I'm no match for her"_ Seeing as talking to her wouldn't help him, Naofumi begun using his cunning head and thought of an idea _"Maybe I should just play dead. try to appeal to her feelings." _And so at the next attack sent Naofumi a few meters away and dropped flat on the ground. Raphtalia immediately stopped and changed her mood, beginning to get worried.

"N-Naofumi-sama….. are you okay?"

Naofumi then took a peek with one of his eyes to see if she stopped, Raphtalia saw through his peeking eyes and got pissed for trying to exploit her emotions, she triggered a magical attack at him.

"Dark-Light Blade!"

"Shit! she knows"

Naofumi immediately jumped out of the way of the attack and began to make a break for it, Raphtalia rapidly closing the distance as she went after him, her sword at hand. _"I have an even better idea, I just hope this works." _Naofumi then stopped at his tracks and faced the raging demi-human Raphtalia. This act only provoked her even more and started charging for an attack.

"Raphtalia sit down! That's an Order!"

Immediately she was electrocuted, purple electricity wrapping around her body stopping her on her tracks. _"she still has the slave mark."_ and shockingly she was able to resist the shock,

"Raphtalia please stop it, Now"

After a duration of being shocked she finally gave in on her knees a few feet away from Naofumi.

**A/N**

I'm not supposed to give my own opinion but... I have done a bit of research, and in the anime Raphtalia is still a 10 year old girl but she appears 18 or 19 due to her race as a demi human and Naofumi leveling her up really fast. She will continue to look the same until she goes past 18 or 19 then she will continue to mature. The shield hero has this sort of passive ability that greatly affects anyone who he is closely associated or the people he supports. Like for example, only the shield hero can raise a Filolial queen as mentioned in the anime. But hey it's just a theory,,, a film theory. and cut...

Reviews

**Guest1: Relax, its no big deal she's just there for addition of characters**

**Guest2: What the Hell dont spoil the light novels!**

**Im The Person: Nah. I won't, too lazy.**

**TheKitsunesage9: You better be!**

**Leave more reviews Goddamnit!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The night has been filled with lots of commotion outside the castle which already caught the attention of a few people.

The two set off quite a ruckus on a calm evening, the cold and stale air, the silence and settling dust all around the surrounding area is now filled with panting and heavy breathing as Naofumi and Raphtalia's fight went to a stand still _(not quite as Raphtalia's been defeated into submission through the slave mark on her.)_

Still catching their breaths Naofumi decided to be the one to speak first.

"Can we continue this just by talking and no more beating up my ass."

Raphtalia turned her head away from him hesitant to speak up.

"…."

"Look I get that you're probably upset about me because of leaving, it was a long time ago for you, but it was just a few weeks for me. And I didn't even leave on my own free will and you people keep saying it the other way around… And now that I have magically retu-…"

Naofumi stumbled on his words as he gazed at Raphtalia, and at closer inspection her face was now drowning in tears, _"Ah, crap now she's crying, did the slave mark hurt her that much? My stupid sense of guilt is resurfacing now….. What is the thing to do here"_ Raphtalia subtly wiped her face of the tears and Naofumi was getting flustered at the sight of the silent weeping demi human in contempt at him.

"*Heavy sigh* okay….. if it would make you feel better then go ahead. Beat up my ass."

Knowing that statement will no longer trigger the slave mark's inhibitions, Raphtalia returned back on her feet, Naofumi faced the ground below him and held out his arms at his sides mentally bracing for the impact, showing his guard is down and willingly give her a free hit. She looked at him in contempt, she then took a step forward.

Naofumi's whole body twitched and reflexed at the moment when something bumped into him and wrapped around him, the surprise attack shocked him as it shocked his body. Raphtalia was crying on him, he could feel her that she was angry but she was also sad. The cold and frigid air made the embrace comfortably soothing even though it was uncomfortably tight for him. The first thing he felt was the tingling sensation around his body, then the soothing warmth, then the sudden dull pain in his abdomen that felt like a cannon ball blew up on his belly.

The punch sent Naofumi several feet above the ground, Filo arrived at the scene and caught Naofumi saving him from the fall as he is slowly losing consciousness and eventually passed out._ "The last thing I saw was me thrown several feet away from where I stood, people from the party arriving at the scene headed to our direction."_

"This is just too much Ne-chan!"

Naofumi woke up past midnight on a bed in a large ambient room, it was silent except for the low crackling sound of the fire in the fireplace which dimly lit the room. Everything was still and placid save for the lightly snoring figures seated on both his bedsides.

Filo holding his right arm, asleep on the corner of the bed and Melty right beside her, Raphtalia peacefully dozing off on her chair, her ears twitching at every sound he made in bed. He looked at the levels of his past party members and was surprised at the numbers, he was only over 150 but Filo and Raphtalia are already 250+. _"How long exactly was I gone? I mean they always had higher levels than me but that was because of the shield's abilities." _Naofumi eventually dismissed the thought and now try and attempt to sneak away from this room without waking the bunch, It's already almost impposible taking that Filo is on top of his arm and Raphtalia with her keen senses which would easily reveal him.

"*Sigh*"

The morning finally came with the sounds of Roosters crowing and early birds chirping. The first to rise was Filo with droopy eyes and drool leaking from the edge of her mouth, her head was on the corner of the bed beside melty, she took in her surroundings and immediately the first thing she noticed was the empty bed,

"Eh?... Ne-chan Ne-chan where's master?"

Raphtalia who is lightly resting almost like she's just closing her eyes, she was already used to sleeping this way so she could detect approaching enemies while everyone is asleep during their past adventures in the wilderness.

"What do you-"

As she opened her eyes she too was surprised that the shield hero was gone. This made her feel anxious as she remembered him gone, and especially because of what happened last night.

" What?! I swear I could've noticed him if he left the room."

"Relax maybe he's just around the castle somewhere."

Melty replied as she slowly dozed off again. Raphtalia stood up from her seat and started walking to the door.

"Where are you going Ne-chan?"

"I'm gonna talk to him, give him a piece of my word."

"Do not hurt him anymore! okay, you already beat him up last night."

"Hmpf! he deserved it after leaving us, this just means that I'm not who I was before and I can go against Naofumi-sama's wishes this time."

"So you are rebelling against him, but you still have that slave mark."

"I know he doesn't want to use it, it doesn't hurt that much anyway."

After walking outside the castle for just a few minutes he finally caught sight of Naofumi outside the castle over the merchants on the market. _"Figures, since he is that kind of person."_ Raphtalia then followed him to an empty alley and hid behind the corner and started thinking on how to approach him. "Should I greet him good morning?, no I should apologize for last night, but he deserved it, what should I say first?"

Naofumi knew that Raphtalia was following him and was also thinking what to say to her after what she did.

"Oyyy! If you are here to try and kill me again I'm gonna abandon this stupid world!"

Naofumi called out to her and caught her attention, the statement made Raphtalia angry and came rushing at Naofumi who idly stood looking at her.

"Baka! Baka!

Do you even understand the situation when you left this world?"

With a face that says I don't care, naofumi replied freely

"Well this world hated me and gave me tons of obstacles to get through."

"Do you even care how the people who cared for you feel?

after all those times I kept begging and asking for you to stay!?"

Naofumi quite frankly enjoyed the exchange of words he's having with the demi-human.

"Don't blame me, blame this damned world for all that shit I had to go through."

"I know you didn't deserve all the hardships-…"

"That's enough, are you here for something?"

Raphtalia taken aback by his reply withdrew her words and gave an answer.

"There has been a problem in Siltvet andddd

I'm going to have to return back this afternoon due to my responsibilities as a leader of the countryyyy and I must not leave them for so long that is why I must return as fast and as soon as I can because I am very important to them because I actually care how they feel towards their leaders unlike my-"

"Okay Okay! I get it already from the first 5 things you want to point out."

"Just proving a point."

Raphtalia's face has been consistently pouty since she arrived, "She has changed a bit after all these years, I remembered those times when she wanted to learn table manners, now she's a ruler of a country, she's come so far, I still couldn't believe that it was a long time ago." Naofumi felt like a proud father with a grin slowly growing in on his face which Raphtalia noticed and coyly pointed it out.

"W-What are going on about!?"

"Nothing… you should be on your way then?"

"Y-yeah"

With it Raphtalia leaves, trailing on her words.

"I'll see ya then."

And with that remark from Naofumi, Raphtalia turned back and glared at him and changed her tone to serious.

"Yeah… I better see you again when I return."

"How adorable." He whispered to himself as he didn't see the supposed threat as it is, rather her scary face or scary voice didn't intimidate him at all just that it looks cute.

**A/N**

Reviews:

Alvaro Eduardo Paliza Chino: Well here you go took long though haha.

Ignaci0: haha well Im waiting for the hype to die out of you then post the next chapter

Guest1: Well she really wasn't supposed to be there, i might revise the whole story just a bit that she could fit in.

Guest2: Yes I do whatever the hell I want like witholding this chapter longer, and this chapter is shorter I know and Ill make chapter 3.5much sooner than a few days to make up for this one.

dragoon109: Well i didn't read any lightnovels and spinoffs yet

hehey its been weeks since the last update and I gave you a shit short chapter Im gonna put up a chapter 3.5 soon and yea...

thats it.

see ya at 3.5


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok so instead of doing the chapter 3.5 i just updated chapter 3 to be longer and post the chapter 4 cause 3.5 seems out of place for me, so here ya go.**

**I added the parts that was supposed to be in 3.5 to be just in chapter 3 so its longer now, don't know why i mentioned it twice so just continue where you left off**

Chapter 4

Filo and Raphtalia already left the kingdom. Raphtalia decided to return back to siltvet, Naofumi immediately decided to return back adventuring and grind levels alone efficiently. _"I have absolutely no clue why I am back here… I still have the legendary shield with me… I should continue strengthening it further… I'm setting off then." _

Naofumi has now set the plan in motion and went to talk to the Queen of Melromarc, but was greeted by the former queen instead.

"Queen Melty is away on a short notice due to diplomatic issues going around the whole continent."

"It's fine I just need a dragon runner for my journey, I'm going to continue strengthening myself."

"Is that all you need from us shield-hero sama?"

"Yea I'm just gonna get the supplies myself"

Naofumi went to a very familiar area in the city. Where he used to always visit whenever he needed supplies, tools, or equipment, old man Erhard's blacksmith. When he arrived at the location of the blacksmith he was confused at first seeing the smithing was different with a lot of floral decorations and the big sign saying "Flower Shop", he went talked to the guy on the desk.

"Welcome! Valued customer is there anything I can get you today."

"Is there a guy named Erhard here? He's a blacksmith."

"Questions huh? But first you have to buy something from this selection of flowers for me to answer your question."

Seeing that arguing and talking out of this merchant will only delay the plans further which already has a problem of finding the smith only got him mentally frustrated.

"Ok. I'll buy your most expensive item if you get straight to the point of who I'm looking for."

"Erhard huh? You must probably mean the black smith who last set up shop in this place, he and along with his shop moved up town at the city square. Now wait a second while I fetch your special bouquet."

The man gave Naofumi a mini bouquet with rare wild flowers, _"This looks very expensive" _Naofumi payed the price of 5 gold pieces which hurt his pocket a bit.

"Thank you and may you come again"

"Great now I have these useless flowers, it'd be a shame to throw it away though."

After asking for directions from people around the area he soon stopped in front a big establishment with the sign outside saying "Hero's Blacksmith" Inside is an isle of organized weapons, armor and equipment displayed up front. The store clerk is different but tjis is definitely Erhard's place. _"I see the old man has upgraded his business, I'm glad he's doing pretty well for himself."_

"Umm, hello can I speak to your boss."

"Sorry he's busy."

"I am a friend of his."

"Like I said he's busy."

Enter the Blacksmith Erhard.

"Oooh, Kiddo you're here."

"You look older now old man."

"Hahahaha,,, So I heard that ruckus outside the party the other day was you and the girl having some quarrel?"

"It was nothing, just some odd greeting that's all."

"What's with the flowers though are they for me?"

"It's nothing… I'll be heading out to the wild can you set me up some equipment and armor old man the queen will pay for everything."

"I'll set you up with some flint, a map and tools for the journey

I had an extra armor from all the rare resources you gave me last time to make you your latest armor and equipment. After all these years It's still in good condition its high quality after all."

"Thank you so much old man."

"Just wait here for a while kid, I'll go get my servants to set them up for you."

After the conversation of an old friend he took a seat nearby to wait for the old man to finish his pack. A couple of guards went inside the shop somehow confirming the perimeter after seeing that I was inside, then came Melty with a flowing dress who is the current queen with royal guards escorting her inside.

"Finally found you. I heard from mother that you are setting of on a journey, I came to probably see you off."

"I'm a bit surprised you came here personally, I'll be leaving soon."

"Don't you need anyone to accompany you?"

"It's alright, unlike before I have more offensive capabilities now."

"Okay then."

Melty proceeded with snapping her fingers in the air and a guard came from outside carrying a bag after being signaled.

"Take this 1000 gold pieces, this will be my gift as budget for you before you leave for an adventure, there's also special passes included to ease you in your travels around the continent"

"Woah… why are you giving me this, it's a lot."

"This isn't even enough to compensate everything you have done for this country so please take it shieldhero-sama."

"_Hmmm. I should do or give something in return, Girls like flowers right?"_ Thinking of what to say after taking the generous offer from Melty he simply walked over towards the Queen and gave her the Flowers he got from the Flower shop from before.

Melty thought the flowers were special and rare judging from its appearance, she went speechless for a bit after taking the flowers from Naofumi. Her face was turning red from the gesture of Naofumi giving her rare and expensive Flowers.

"T-Thank you N-Naofumi-sama."

"Yea I didn't have any need for them."

Naofumi was now all set for the journey riding the dragon runner will all his supplies and the old man, Melty and Mirelia are at the gates seeing him off for his journey.

"Come back soon Naofumi-sama!"

"If you ever need anything kiddo you know where to find me."

"I'll be returning soon see ya."

Naofumi used the power of the shield to make the dragon-runner stronger, faster and won't tire, to effectively travel far away where there are strong and rare beasts because handling small frys in the kingdom just won't cut it hence the journey.

After 2 days of rigorous traveling Naofumi crossed paths with a big and crazy strong Monster in the forest(use your imagination). "This thing is very tough, this will give me a hard time but might as well be worth it."

Naofumi used different shields to defend and attack against the monster and has proven itself to be a difficult adversary, Just when Naofumi is going to use Rage series shields a speeding large cyclone struck the monster and is tearing it to shreds, looking at the size of the tornado it should be ripping apart everything nearby but even at a close distance Naofumi is unharmed or even affected by the cyclone. _"This is a no ordinary cyclone, must've came from a very strong Air mage."_

"Naofumi-sama!

It is Filo, Filo is here to save you!"

The rustling wind and the loud noise from above calling out by his name. _"there is definitely no mistaking it."_ Looking up above a large Filolial that just popped and shrank down to a normal sized girl diving down the sky and hit Naofumi locking her arms around his neck for an embrace.

"Filo misses you already Master Naofumi"

"My neck hurts"


End file.
